Jeanine: Oh man, hitting that turn sequence was the best feeling ever! You squeeze and squeeze everything you have, hold it in and pray you don’t fall off balance. It was the best moment of Wednesday night for me, hearing the audience and standing on that stage … ugh, it was amazing!

PW: When you nail a move like that, how do you keep from bursting out in a proud smile?

Jeanine: It’s so hard to keep from smiling sometimes, but I just keep the mentality of, if you hit it, great, but you have to be ready to cover it up if you don’t.

PW: Like last night, did you actually drop the necklace?

Jeanine: I did! [laughs] I couldn’t believe I dropped it! I’ve never dropped it in any of our rehearsals or performances!

PW: Which is impressive because Jason long-bombs that at you!

Jeanine: I know, right! Thank you for noticing! But I’ve always been nervous about dropping it. Thankfully, I was able to grab it and still make it over and rip Jason’s shirt off in time.

PW: I’m always amazed by the costumes dancers have to wear, what was your favorite worst one?

Jeanine: You know, while I love getting dressed up to go out, for the most part I’m a very jeans and sneakers kind of girl. I just like to be comfortable. So parading around in those little rhinestone outfits has been a whole new world to me. But the most outrageous outfit that almost gave me a panic attack was the Russian folk costume.

PW: Was that your hardest night?

Jeanine: It was tough because I knew it wouldn’t be a crowd pleaser. There were other dances that I had more difficulty grasping in terms of technique, but for me, it was a high — I had so much fun and it ended up being a great comedic moment for the show.

PW: So what was the toughest one for you to grasp?

Jeanine: The toughest one to perform was Tabitha and Napoleon’s routine with the chain. I mean, hip-hop isn’t my forte so the steps were hard to get in the first place, then I had to do it attached to Phillip. It was so stressful that week — the first, and only, time we ever hit it without getting tangled up was on the live performance show.

PW: On those live shows, who do you think is the toughest judge?

Jeanine: I’ve got to say Mia [Micheals] because as a contemporary dancer, she’s it, you know. It was an incredible opportunity to work with her because she breaks you down and builds you back up. So while it’s nerve-racking having her on the panel, it’s that much more rewarding when you get positive feedback from her.

PW: If you had to pick one moment that you could relive over and over, aside from winning, what would it be?

Jeanine: It would have to be the moment after Jason and I finished Travis’ piece. We stood up, I gave him a hug and the audience just exploded. They were all up on their feet and the applause just continued for so long. I almost burst out crying because I felt like it was the first time I showed America who I was and what I was capable of. It was the best feeling ever and the moment that changed my life.